Leve Center for Jewish Studies is the leading research center for the study of Jewish culture and civilization in California and one of the largest and most active centers in the world. Its mandate is to serve the faculty members at UCLA and other local universities conducting research in Jewish Studies, UCLA undergraduate and graduate students, and the broader Los Angeles community, exposing all to the riches of a great world culture, as well as to the values of diversity and tolerance that accompany its study. The Center sponsors nearly seventy courses a year in Jewish studies at UCLA, as well as some 50 lectures, symposia, and conferences on far-reaching topics in the field of Jewish studies (all of which are free and open to the general public). Through these activities, the Center aims to bring the past into conversation with the present—by adding historical depth to contemporary issues and contemporary relevance to historical study. In 1994 Provost Brian Copenhaver of the UCLA College of Letters and Science established the Center for Jewish Studies in the Humanities Division, under the administration and support of Dean Pauline Yu. Through the leadership of its founding director, Professor Arnold J. Myers and Kenneth Reinhard, and current Director Todd Presner, the Center has developed into an exceptionally productive scholarly resource with an impressive roster of faculty, a steady stream of distinguished visitors, and a world famous library collection.
